Conservation's capacity to deal with anthropogenic environmental threats within Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) varies enormously, especially in developing countries that are often immersed in weak enforcement, ineffective management and shortages of resources. A deeper understanding of the causes of these threats is fundamental for identifying effective management solutions. Here, we investigate the presumptive drivers of environmental threats across 40 Brazilian MPAs. We categorized and quantified environmental threats from two independent sources i) the results of systematic social surveys carried out as part of WWF's RAPPAM assessment, as primary data source, and; ii) data gathered from news media articles related to the MPAs (secondary data source). We identified 461 reports of threats that we classified into three general categories overexploitation, urbanization and land use threats. https://www.selleckchem.com/products/n6022.html The presence of overexploitation threats was strongly associated with extreme poverty of local communities close to the MPAs. Threats also seem to be more frequent in category V MPAs, which in Brazil are Environmental Protection Areas (EPA), with multiple use objectives. Threats were concentrated on the North and Southeast coasts of Brazil. We found that data from news media can be used for qualitative assessment of threats, but has limited potential for quantification. Our findings highlight the need for policy makers and MPA managers to adopt a broader perspective that considers the role of social inequalities in promoting and exacerbating environmental threats. While recognizing that conservation has limited capacity to address the widespread social inequalities found in many tropical developing countries, if the socioeconomic context of local communities is significantly compromising conservation efforts it may be necessary to target and prioritize social interventions as a prerequisite for effective MPA management and governance.Urine nitrification is one of the possibilities for the future recovery of water and elements for soilless crop production in space systems. The start-up of artificial urine nitrification was conducted for over 85 days in a sequencing batch reactor (SBR). Two free ammonia (FA) incidents occurred, which gave the opportunity to demonstrate the impressive ability of nitrifiers to resist temporary inhibition by FA without long lasting adverse effects. The failures led to very high FA concentrations of 280 and 84 gN-NH3/m3, respectively. Sludge was exposed to FA for 19 and 27 h. It was possible to restore nitrification with simple remedy actions (dilution and pH restoration). No inhibitory effects on the nitrification rate were seen after implementation of the remedy actions and the nitrification rate increased considerably (up to 300% of the pre-failure value) due to decrease in salinity. After a few days of normal operation and salt concentration, the nitrification rate returned to the pre-failure values in both cases.Mining has been a long-standing key player in economic development, employment, infrastructure, and supply of essential raw materials for society. It has served as a viable route to economic transformation in resource-rich countries like Australia, Canada, the United States, and parts of Africa. In this review, the impact of mining has been conceptualized into economic, environmental, and social impacts. While it is clear that mining has transformed many economies, it has also impacted negatively on the environment and, to some extent, society. Some of the negative impacts of mining are loss of vegetation cover, mass destruction of water bodies, loss of biodiversity, land-use changes and food insecurity, increased social vices and conflicts, high cost of living, and air pollution. However, reclamation has been a viable way of reducing the negative impacts of abandoned mine lands and ensure productive and efficient utilization of mine wastelands. Compaction, low or high pH, low water holding capacity, gullies,ilitation.Microplastics in aquatic ecosystem are an emerging environmental threat, primarily aggregating into sediments and living biota besides providing active transportation to toxic pollutants. Recent studies have revealed that a microplastic surface cannot be considered as "inert" and therefore the rate and stage of degradation of microplastic will determine its capability in adsorbing and transporting the solute to longer distances. Our concern is driven by the fact that there has been an absence of widescale research in India despite a country with one of the longest networks of rivers and a 7500 km long active coastline. Anthropogenic pollutants are expected to increase and the situation will further worsen when more persistent organic pollutants (POCs) and geogenic contaminants will find its sink via monsoon runoff. Studies on aquatic species including COD, daphnia magna and zebrafish suggest strong links of bio-accumulation, suspecting to a more serious situation for the coastal India where there is an almost three times increase in the density of the microplastics as the monsoon progresses. Evidences also suggests that microplastics can adsorb known carcinogens as well as endocrine disrupting chemicals leaving our aquatic life exposed to higher mortality. Our review is a first ever scientific attempt in compiling these evidences through researches done in this field to understand the risk that the major floodplains of North India are currently facing. We have adapted the theories and inferences of the available research to predict and postulate a probable mechanism that could explain the severity of the situation in India.Water risks are one of the key issues dominating environmental debates on shale gas development. Water withdrawals and wastewater discharges in shale gas fields of mountainous areas are more complicated than in plain areas due to different climatic, topographical and hydrological conditions, which would impact water resources. This research identifies the surface water-related risks from shale gas development in mountainous areas as water shortage and water pollution. Conceptions of accessibility for both water supply and water pollution are proposed to describe the vulnerability of water resources and the exposure to water pollution. Based on a risk probability model, a water risk assessment method for mountainous areas is constructed from the perspectives of dangers, exposures and vulnerabilities. Finally, the assessment method is applied in Chongqing, China. The results show that, from 2010 to 2020, the water consumption of shale gas development has a little impact on regional water resources in total, but more significant impacts are seen in a few areas, including the seasonal water-deficient areas in Western Chongqing, the urban and suburban areas with high pollutant loadings in Midwest Chongqing, and other areas with high pollutant accessibility and vulnerable water environments.